At the beginning of each decade, the U.S. government surveys the American population to count how many people are living in the United States.

The census day is April 1, 2010.

The questionnaires will be mailed out in mid-March. The census bureau recently initiated an advertising campaign to educate citizens about the census and encourage people to fill out the 10-question form and mail it back to the bureau.

Entrepreneurs aspiring to open medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated Jeffco were dealt a formal setback last week when the county commissioners approved a six-month zoning moratorium on the businesses.

“We are going to review this and make a decision within 180 days,” Commissioner Kathy Hartman said. “And that decision could be that our current zoning ordinance is adequate.”

The Jeffco school board voted Jan. 14 to close only one school as part of its long-awaited plan to address a massive budget shortfall through building closures.

Arvada’s Russell Elementary will be shuttered after the end of the current school year. Students living within its boundaries will soon attend Arvada Middle School, which will become a K-8 facility. The board also voted in favor of closing and destroying all temporary classroom buildings at schools operating at less than 92 percent of capacity.

Gov. Bill Ritter paid a visit last week to a South Jeffco company that manufactures cutting-edge batteries that are about the size of a postage stamp and nearly as thin.

“It is great to celebrate a local company,” Ritter said before a small audience of Infinite Power Solutions employees. “It’s also great to celebrate a company that has and will have in the future a significant global impact. … It is absolutely exciting.”

Ralph Schell says he never set out to become Jeffco’s county administrator.

The outdoorsy Colorado native has spent the majority of his working life cultivating a career in open space and parks. He graduated from CSU with a degree in outdoor recreation planning and worked for Colorado State Parks for 20 years before joining Jeffco government, where until recently he had served as Open Space director.

A Dakota Ridge High School student who was detained by deputies during a November 2008 speech by Michelle Obama at the school has settled his lawsuit against the sheriff’s office and Jeffco Public Schools.

Blake Benson, now a senior at the school, is set to receive $2,000 from each of the two agencies. Benson, who was represented by the ACLU, said his First Amendment rights were violated.